"She will never fly", the doctor said. "Her wings are too weak. The skin too thin, the bones too frail."
A long silence in the hospital's examination room.
"Certainly something can be done... anything... whatever it takes, we will do it", Twilla's father finally said, helplessly.
"Dear", his wife said, and gently touched his arm. "We knew it before, and the good doctor just confirmed it. We will love her even more, and let her soul fly free."
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Years later, the doctor's assessment held true. Twilla spent much of her spare time on the platform of Amdeneir's highest tower. She enjoyed the height, for in the strong winds, part of her could believe that she was flying.
She used to play with the children there, holding them into the winds, so they could flap their wings safely.
She loved the children, and the children loved her back, the smallest ones most, mayhap because they also did not fly... yet.
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One bright morning Nlle was with her on the platform, his arms around her.
"You will never fly", Nlle said, not for the first time. "So what? I love you anyway. And there is no reason our children will not fly."
He kissed her, gently.
"Our children...", she murmured, mind and eyes wandering through the skies. A thought came and went, returned, and became a resolution.
Quickly she pushed his arms off her, and started to run, her wings flapping.
"Twilla, what...", he called after her. Then he screamed, "Twilla, no!"
She threw herself into the winds. And, incredibly, she gained some height. "I am flying", she thought, elated. "I am free."
For a short moment only. Then pain tore through the delicate fabric of her wings, and elation turned to horror. "I am falling. I am..."
Desperately now she flapped her wings, but to no avail. Wind was in her ears as she went down, wind and something else.
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Later they sat together in silence for a long time.
Finally she said, "I had to do it, that is all I can tell you. I simply had to."
"But the risk!", he exclaimed. "You could have died. We caught you at the very last moment. Was it really worth it?"
She looked at him with a determination that was new to him. "Absolutely", she said, and kissed him. "Now, what concerns our children... methinks we should retire early tonight."
